1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safety mechanisms and, in particular, this invention relates to safety mechanisms for firearms.
2. Background
Virtually every firearm possesses at least one safety mechanism. These safety mechanisms prevent the firearm from being operated when the safety mechanism is in what may be termed an “on-safe” position. The safety mechanism may block a component, such as a trigger, trigger bar, hammer, or firing pin, from being displaced. Thus, if pressure is inadvertently applied to the trigger, one of the foregoing components cannot be displaced and the firearms is not unintentionally fired. Other safety mechanisms have been proposed to augment or replace the foregoing mechanical mechanisms. Some of these other safety mechanisms examine the user's fingerprints to match a predetermined fingerprint pattern before the firearm can be utilized. Another safety mechanism includes a transponder and requires a specified electromagnetic source, e.g., worn as a wrist band, proximate the transponder to activate the safety mechanism before the firearm can be fired. Other technologies proposed to augment traditional mechanical safety mechanisms utilize mechanical combination locks, electromechanical locks, electromagnetic locks and magnetic locks. While the foregoing technologies potentially enhance the safety of firearms, they lack the dependability inherent in safety mechanisms employing only mechanical components. For example, the foregoing additional mechanisms usually require electricity for operation. The required electricity will almost certainly be obtained from batteries, the batteries, in turn, exhaustible. Hence, firearm safeties utilizing electrical components may be inoperable if batteries are exhausted.
Another concern regarding currently available safety mechanisms for firearms is that none of the known mechanical safety mechanisms automatically disarms a firearm when not being gripped by a user, such that the firearm cannot be re-grasped and fired. Instead, a user must manually adjust the safety mechanism of some mechanical mechanisms between an on-safe or off-safe position. In other mechanical safety mechanisms, a safety is present at locations where the firearm is normally grasped, e.g., at the grip of a semi-automatic pistol. Typically, grasping the firearm pivots the safety into an off-safe position, thereby allowing the firearm to be fired. However, an unintended user can grasp and use a firearm previously in an on-safe position, because the unintended user is not required to bring the firearm to an off-safe position by performing any subsequent mechanical step.
There is then a need for a firearm safety mechanism which is self-disarming. There is a particular need for a firearm safety mechanism which is self-disarming and is completely composed of mechanical components and in which a subsequent mechanical step must be performed before the safety mechanism can be adjusted to an off-safe position.